I have been not keeping up with my quest to try new recipes personal challenge. I don't even remember what number I am on anymore I have to admit.. I know, how hard is it to count to 50, right?

Well... I love my Cake Mix Doctor book and I didn't think I'd find a recipe I didn't enjoy. This one was suppose to be Mom's Chocolate Syrup Cake. Collin wanted it and I had a bottle of chocolate syrup so why not? I will say that it is not very chocolately - at all. It is more of a marble cake with less marbling in it. It was mostly yellow cake. The biggest issue I had with it was that it called for a tube pan. I don't own one anymore - although I believe it is on my shopping list now... I used a bundt pan because that is what I had. In hindsight, I should have used two loaf pans. I think it would have come out better.

The recipe tells you to pour in half the batter then pour the chocolate syrup in making sure you don't touch the sides... then swirl it with a knife. That is easier said than done. Want to know what happens when your chocolate syrup touches the sides? Well, it seeps out of the cake mix and along the edges of the pan and then just sticks to it like glue. The picture shows what it looked like when I took it out of the pan. What was stuck to the bottom was a gooey mess.

I won't be making this recipe again any time soon... if ever. Okay, probably never again. There are too many really good cake recipes out there. This one did not make the grade. Speaking of grades, I give it a C and that is being generous and only because it was a moist cake but just not chocolately enough.

And then this weekend I made the Pineapple Inside Out Cake from the same book....

The actual cake itself was pretty tasty. There's a bit of pineapple blended in with the lemon cake mix which kind of toned down the lemon of a standard lemon cake mix.

The glaze however was sickening sweet. It was FAAAAAAAR too sweet for me. I made the mistake of pouring some over on the cut side of a slice and I just could not eat it. It made my eyes curl in to my head. If I were diabetic I think that glaze would have really pushed me over the edge.

What is the big *surprise* here with the Pineapple Inside Out Cake? Well, you just spoon some crushed pineapple on top - not too much of a surprise there is you ask me. I have never made a traditional pineapple upside down cake before... wanna guess what will be on my short list to do? Yup. A real one.

This is also on my don't make again list. If for some reason I get a wild hair and want to make it again... I will not use the glaze. I think maybe a little sprinkle of confectioner's sugar on top would have been way more sufficient.

Oh and this recipe also called for the tube pan... I used two loaf pans instead. I really really really regret pouring the glaze over both of them.

Collin loves it but then he loves just about any food item. David and Logan won't touch it. It will end up in the trash soon.

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.